Letters -- Published May 20, 2013

Monday

May 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Our mayor doesn't seem to have the ability to play well with others. At every level of his "public" service there has been one controversy after another. Maybe he should look in the mirror and realize the common denominator in all these situations is him.

Our mayor doesn't seem to have the ability to play well with others. At every level of his "public" service there has been one controversy after another. Maybe he should look in the mirror and realize the common denominator in all these situations is him.

Now he wants a strong mayor system. Of course he does; that way he can do whatever he wants, without any repercussions. He also wants us to pay for a new tax to fund more officers.

I'm confused. I thought the city had been cutting our employees' pay and benefits the past few years so we could afford them.

I'm all for more officers, but I'm tired of new taxes to pay for basic services. Anyone remember Measure W, the special use tax for police and fire we have on the books now?

That special police and fire tax didn't stop the city from having the lowest staffing levels of police since 1993.

Don't be fooled, they just want you to pay more in taxes so they can waste more of your money in other places.

Joshua Pollock

Stockton

In the May 10 Record, Kate Post, executive director of the Stockton Asparagus Festival, suggested that the 25 percent drop in attendance might be due to the Boston bombing incident and the controversy over the future festival location.

That is the most blatant example of spin I have ever encountered.

Except for this year, we have attended the festival every year since we moved here in 2006. We won't be returning, but not for the reasons she stated.

I'm tired of paying $26 (including parking) before I set foot inside, so that vendors can sell me stuff, including asparagus that is usually so stringy that it's like trying to eat green bamboo and I have to toss one-third of it away.

Then I can watch the dog on the skateboard again for the umpteenth time and watch boring acts on the De Carli Stage.

Then there's the financial issue, and I wonder why the police can't volunteer their time like the volunteers for the charities. It might repair their greedy image.

What I'm trying to say is that the festival needs to be reinvented instead of plodding along year after year.

A.R. Johnson

Stockton

I was thrilled to read "A Name You Should Know" in your paper May 14.

I think it is wonderful that they have named San Joaquin Delta College Studio Theatre the Alfred H. Muller Studio Theatre. No one deserves it more.

I have wonderful memories of Mr. Muller. I was his student at Escalon High School, class of '56. I took several classes from him. His classes were so much fun.

He was our senior class adviser and has attended our class reunions. We always love seeing him and his wife.

My husband and I have attended several of his productions over the years and have enjoyed them. He is a master director, wonderful teacher, and most of all a great person.

Shirley (Beal) Burns

Lodi

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